John fatka



(No Model) J. FATKA.

THILL HOLDER.

No. 584,468. Patented June 15,1897.

nrrnn Ernrns FFICEQ arnnr JOHN EATKA, OF RAOINE, WVISCONSIN, ASSIGNOR, BY DIRECT AND MESNE ASSIGJMENTS, TO JOSEPH VAN BREE AND IIUBERT VAN BREE, OF SAME PLACE.

THlLL-HOLDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 584,468, dated June 15, 1897. Application filed December 3, 1896. Serial No. 614,267. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN FATKA, of Racine, in the county'of Racine and State of \Visconsin, have invented a new and useful Improve ment in Thill-Holders, of which the following is a description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which are a part of this specification.

My invention relates to improvements in thill-holders of that class or style that is attached to a harness and is suspended therefrom, being practically a part of the harness, and is adapted for supporting the front end of a thill.

The object of the invention is to provide a thill-holder that is strong and enduring in quality, that is inexpensively made, that is so constructed as to be capable of receiving the thill laterally without having to thrust the thill endwise into it, and that is provided with means for securely holding or locking the parts of the thill-holder in position releasably, which means are so constructed with reference to other means in connection with the peculiarly-constrncted thill-holder as to be capable of ready release and engagement of the parts thereof.

The invention consists of the improved thill-holder, its parts and combinations of parts, as hereinafter described and claimed, or their equivalents.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is an end elevation of my improved thillholder in connection with a fragment of the depending end of the back-strap of a harness, from which the thill-holder is suspended, dotted linesbeing used to indicate positions of some of the members when the thill-holder is open for re ceiving a thill therein. Fig. 2 is a front side elevation of my improved thill-holder with a fragment of the back-strap. Fig. 3 is a central longitudinal section of the devices for locking'or securing adjacent parts of the thill-holder to each other.

In the drawings, A is a depending end of the back-strap of a harness.

B is a buckle permanently attached to the chill-holder and adapted to engage and thereby secure the thill-holder to the back-strap adjustably.

The thill-holder proper comprises an upper member 0, and a lower member D, hinged to the upper member at their lower extremities, and devices for attaching the thill-holder to the harness and for securing the members 0 and D to each other releasably at their free ends.

The members 0 and D are preferably con structed of leather or analogous material, having the general form of a thick strap or band.

The upper member 0 is in the general form of a yoke, having downwardly extending spreading legs E E, the leg E at the rear being considerable longer than the leg E at the front and curving inwardly with considerable sharpness near its lower extremity.

The member D at its lower extremity is hinged to the lower extremity of the member C, the joint and hinge being preferably a little at the rear of the middle of the lower part of the thill-holder and the front and free end of the member D being adapted to overlap 011 the outside the lower portion of the leg E of the member 0. The general contour of the thill-holder, looking at its end, is of an irregular circle or more approximately of ovoid shape.

A metal strap F, substantially as wide as the width of the members 0 and D, is secured permanently by rivets G G or equivalent means to the member 0, the plate being formed to fit to the exterior of the leg E and to the upper portion of the leg E, except that above the top of the member 0 the strap F is curved or bent upwardly at H, forming a transverse channel or groove adapted to receive therein the lower transverse bar of the buckle B, whereby the buckle is attached to the thillholder. At the lower end of the leg E a loop I, preferably of metal, is secured permanently to the leg E and extends therefrom toward the front, forming the loop or a pocket adapted to receive therein the free end of the member D. The members 0 and D, being made of leather or analogous material, are slightly flexible, and this construction, in connection with a somewhat free or loose fit of the end of the member D in the loop I, per

mits the end of the member D to be readily I00 inserted endwise through the loop I and withdrawn therefrom. A hasp K, hinged at its upper end to the plate F by means of ears L L, located a little above the loop I, is provided with a pin or tooth M, adapted when closed down upon the loop I to pass through an aperture therefor in the loop and in the leg E and also through an aperture therefor in the member D, the several apertures being arranged to register with each other when the member D is inserted in the loop I and thus closed on the leg E, being securely locked thereto by the hasp K and its pin M. A spring N, secured to the strap F, extends into an aperture in the strap F beneath an d so as to bear against the hasp K, adjacent to its pivotal connection with the strap. The hasp K is provided with two faces 0 0', arranged to bear against the spring N and be thereby locked releasabiy in position, closed on the loop I, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, and also in an open position, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1.

It will be understood that to insert or remove a thill from the thill-holder it is only necessary to release the hasp K by swinging it upwardly and to swing down the member D in the manner shown in Fig. 1 in dotted lines, and that to secure the thill in the holder the members D and K are to be returned to the positions shown in full lines in Fig. 1.,

A wire loop or link P is so constructed as to serve as a pin or pintle for the hinge that connects the swinging member D to the nonswinging member 0, and this link P is adapted to be attached to or engaged by the belly-band of the harness, thus, through the thill-holder, connectin g the belly-band with the back-strap and securing the thill-holder in place in the harness.

What I claim as my invention is A thill-holder comprising a principal nonswinging member, a thereto-hinged swinging member the free end of the swinging member being so disposed as to overlap the free end of the non -swinging member when closed thereto, a loop secured to and projecting exteriorly from the free end of the non-swinging member at and near its extremity into which loop the free end of the swinging member is adapted to be thrust, a hasp hinged to the non-swinging member above the loop and extending over and housing the loop and the free end of the swinging member therein, a pin on the hasp adapted to pass in registering apertures therefor through the loop and the overlapping ends of the swinging and nonswinging members, and a spring acting on the hasp adapted to hold it in a closed or open position.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

J OI'IN FATKA.

WVitnesses:

O. T. BENEDIOT, ARTHUR L. MQRSELL. 

